Walkers provide people with some mobility impairment to walk in an upright position by providing a support while allowing movement, typically in the forward direction. A conventional prior art walker is shown in FIG. 1. This form of walker is wheeled and has handles for the user at a suitable height for the user. It is a rear-entry walker given that a horizontal structural member is positioned in front of the user.
A conventional walker, even when properly adjusted for height, does not encourage good posture or spinal alignment. A user will typically bend over or stoop to put weight on the handles. After prolonged use, the user's back muscles adapt and stiffen into the hunched posture, which reduces the user's strength and mobility. As a result, the user becomes ever more dependent on the walker, entering a downward spiral of mobility and strength decline.
There is a need in the art for a walker which mitigates the difficulties in the prior art, and specifically assists a user in achieving a neutral spine during use.